Recipe Time #14: Honey Cream Wonton Tarts

Simple, slightly elegant and finger-friendly; these are less frigid cousins of my wonton sundaes, both of which were inspired by Semi-Homemade Sandra Lee's Won Ton Napoleons, except mine's a lot less pre-packaged and a lot more tasty.

Ingredients
3 dz. wonton skins (usually near other refrigerated Asian stuff like tofu)
1/4 cup honey
6 large eggs, separated
3 cups half and half
1 cup sugar
4 Tbsp. flour
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. almond extract
assorted berries or chocolate chips (approx. 2 cups)
cocoa powder (optional with chocolate chips)

Directions
1. Make the vanilla-almond pastry cream (preferably night before)
~ heat the half and half to simmering on medium flame
~ combine 6 egg yolks, 4 egg whites (save the other 2), flour, sugar and the extracts in a large bowl
~ after half and half simmers, slowly incorporate into the egg-sugar-mixture, stirring vigorously
~ after it's fully mixed, transfer back to saucepan and heat to boiling - about 7 minutes - continuing to stir regularly
~ after it boiled for 1-2 minutes and started to thicken, remove from heat and transfer to a large enough bowl; cover with plastic wrap (pressing the wrap against surface of the cream) and chill for several hours or overnight.

2. Making the wonton tart crisps
~ preheat oven to 450 F
~ lay wonton skins out single layer on nonstick cookie sheet (I use parchment paper, which makes for easy swapping when making a big batch)
~ brush with remaining egg whites and drizzle with honey
~ bake in oven for 3-5 minutes or until golden brown (keep a close eye, they burn easily!)
~ let cool to room temperature

3. Assembly - simply pile a tablespoon's worth of pastry cream on top of the baked wontons, and add sliced berries, chocolate chips and/or powdered cocoa. (Don't assemble until shortly before serving, as the skin will get soggy).